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3
Present day
“Fuck, that was close!” Eastern says as he flops down onto his seat. I chuck my bag in the overhead rack and sit down next to him.
“I told you it was platform five. Why don’t you ever listen to me?”
“Because I’m a plum…”
“With a capital P,” I finish for him.
“With a capital P indeed,” he retorts with a broad smile. “I’ve fucking missed this. Do you know that?”
“What, me taking the piss out of you, and you just… taking it?” I bump him with my shoulder, winking.
“Ha, ha. You know what I mean. You’re the only one who can make me smile, Asia. The only one who makes everything okay,” he admits.
“Yeah, I know,” I reply gently, suddenly finding the big, fat, balding man occupying the seat two rows down very interesting. I know we’re overdue for a very important conversation but knowing that and going through with it are two very different things. This is the first time we’ve been alone together since all the shit went down at Oceanside. It’s the perfect time to get everything out in the open. I’d promised myself that I’d tell him everything today. Now that today is here, I’ve become a chicken-shit.
“So, we get to hang out for the rest of the afternoon before heading to Oceanside, yeah?” Eastern asks, clocking me biting on my lip ring nervously. He raises an eyebrow.
“Yep. We’ve got until 6pm before we need to show our faces,” I say, plastering on a smile and hoping I’m covering up my nerves well enough.
“What are we gonna do with the few hours we’ve got?”
“I thought maybe head to the beach?” I suggest. Truth be known, I’ve been both dreading and looking forward to this time alone together. It’d be good to kickback with my bestie and blow off a little steam on the beachfront, but I really need to tell him about Ford and Sonny, about what happened between us… though I’m not sure whether I can say anything about Camden just yet. That’s a complication I’m just not ready to face.
“Sounds good. Not sure how I’m gonna face that fucker Camden now I know what he allowed Monk to do to you.”
Okay, so I can’t bring up Camden yet. Not that I even know what to say about him and me, because there is no him and me. Just a weird kind of tension that I’m hoping Camden’s alleviated himself of over the Christmas break. God knows I’ve tried to.
“It’s complicated,” I find myself saying.
“You’re defending him?” Eastern snaps.
“No, I’m not.”Yes, yes you are.The question is why? I search inside myself trying to find the answers and coming up even more confused. Am I defending the person he once was; Bling? Or am I defending the person he is now: Camden? Can I even separate the two?
“Good. He doesn’t deserve your forgiveness, or your loyalty. You join his crew to get what Crown wants, what we need to secure our future, and that’s it.”
“That’s it,” I agree, a little too quickly. For once, Eastern doesn’t seem to notice the tremor in my voice hiding the truths I’ve yet to tell him.
“So, fill me in on the downlow with Oceanside and the rest of the inmates,” Eastern says as he removes his jacket and rests his feet on the seats opposite, effectively blocking anyone else from sitting with us.
“Apart from the obvious, what fuckers do I need to kick the shit out off, and who are the ones that I can trust? Actually, let me rephrase that. Who are the ones you trust because we all know you’re a way better judge of character than I am.”
He grasps my hand, not in the least bit afraid to do so now that we’ve stepped out of the friendzone and into the… what? Kiss zone? Almost-boyfriend zone? Maybe best-friends-that-kiss zone? Friends-with-benefits zone? Fuck, I don’t know.
My head is all over the place, whilst my heart is finding it hard to cope with just how hard it’s beating now, especially after that gift Eastern gave me today. Which, incidentally, is safe at Tracy’s house. There’s no way I’m makingthatmistake again.
“Spit it out,” he says, rubbing his thumb gently over my knuckles. His touch is warm, sure, familiar andright. Just like Sonny’s kiss was, just like Ford’s too.
I’m in so much trouble…
“Let’s start with Pink and Kate,” I begin, knowing that I can’t broach the subject of Ford and Sonny until I’ve plucked up enough courage. I never considered myself a coward. I’ve always dealt with any issues I’ve had head on, but those were the kind of issues that fists can sort out. This kind of issue, the kind where I’m lusting after three… four. No, three guys! Is not so easy to resolve.
“The girls I met at Oceanside? Yeah, that Pink seems like a chick I could get on with. Clothes are even crazier than yours. Until I met her, I thought you were the only one on the planet who liked to dress like a rainbow. You ain’t got nothing on her.” He grins, tugging on my newly dyed red hair with his free hand.
“Pink is pretty cool. She’s funny, loyal, a little odd, and alsogay,” I add, you know just in case he’s getting any funny ideas.
